The list is an absolute good. The list is life.
All around its cramped margins lies the gulf.

-Thomas Keneally in Schindler's List

Who would have guessed that an Academy Award-winning movie and an internationally acclaimed book would be created because a man needed to purchase a new briefcase? In 1980 while shopping for a new briefcase, Thomas Keneally, an Australian novelist and playwright, met the owner of the store, Leopold Pfefferberg. Pfefferberg, however, was more interested in telling Keneally about his past than selling him a briefcase. For years Leopold Pfefferberg and his wife, Mila, had been searching for someone to write their story, the story of Oskar Schindler and the Jews he saved.

Keneally was captivated by the story of Oskar Schindler. So much so that he would spend the next few years of his life interviewing 50 Schindler survivors from seven different nations and studying the Holocaust to create the book Schindler's List (1982). As a result, his book has received international acclaim and numerous awards, including the Booker Prize and the Los Angeles Times Book Award. It was also the source of the Oscar-winning movie directed by Steven Spielberg.

Thomas Keneally has written more than 20 books, including To Asmara: A Novel of Africa (1989), The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (1972), and Flying Hero Class (1991). He currently teaches in the graduate writing program at the University of California at Irvine, where he holds a distinguished professorship. Keneally makes his home in Australia.

Thomas Keneally's address begins at 7:00 p.m. in McKenna Auditorium and is open to all without charge.

Is Democracy in East Central Europe Viable?

KRZYSZTOF JASIEWICZ

TUESDAY, APRIL 12, 1994

Since the crumbling of the Berlin Wall and the lifting of the Iron Curtain, East Central Europe has been undergoing profound political, social, and economic changes. Dr. Krzysztof Jasiewicz is highly qualified to shed both analytical and empirical light on the historically unprecedented processes of transformation as the countries of this region-Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia-attempt to move from Leninism to liberalism, from central planning to free markets. Born in 1949 in Poland, Jasiewicz has been a witness, a participant, and a respected analyst of the dramatic events in Poland that began with the founding of Solidarity in 1980.

In addition to his expertise on Poland, Jasiewicz is a comparative sociologist whose research encompasses all of East Central Europe. He is both an organizer of and a participant in numerous international conferences and research projects that focus on the changing political and social environment in East Central Europe. His most recent publications include the following articles: Citizenship in Post-communist Poland: Civil Society or Das Volk? and From Solidarity to Fragmentation (1992).

Dr. Jasiewicz has lectured extensively at many American universities, including Harvard, Yale, Columbia, and Berkeley. Currently, he is professor of sociology at Washington and Lee University.

Please join us for this unique opportunity to evaluate the prospects for democracy in East Central Europe.

Poetic Tea

THE DEAD POETS' SOCIETY

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 1994 3:00 p.m.

The Dead Poets' Society is an organization which provides the opportunity for students to share original work with each other. This afternoon's poetry reading will feature members Beth Burkhart, Sandor Boulter, Tom Krane, Alex Vargas, Liz Williams, Yanira Wong, Holly Vicente, Jonathan Lee, David Terner, Natalee Greene, and D.J. Saltarelli.

Come and experience the creative efforts of these young writers and permit them to share their ideas with you.

The Holocaust and Its Remembrance

MICHAEL BERENBAUM

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 1994

In honor of Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Athenaeum is proud to present Michael Berenbaum, director of the United States Holocaust Research Institute of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. He helped bring the museum into being by directing the creative staff, writing the storyline of the museum, and charting its intellectual course. He also supervised the growth of the museum's library and archives.

Berenbaum is also the Hymen Goldman adjunct professor of theology at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. He previously taught at Wesleyan University and Yale University and served as visiting professor at George Washington, University of Maryland, and American University. Berenbaum has also authored nine books as well as many journalistic and scholarly articles. His books include After Tragedy and Triumph: Essays in Modern Jewish Thought and the American Experience (1991), The World Must Know: A History of the Holocaust (1993), and The Holocaust: Religious and Philosophical Implications (1989), which he coauthored with CMC's John Roth.

Since the Holocaust Memorial Museum opened last summer it has become one of the most popular museums in DC. We are indeed fortunate that Berenbaum will provide us with an opportunity to learn about the Holocaust Memorial Museum without leaving Claremont.

North Korea at the Crossroads

CHONG-SIK LEE

THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 1994

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) is often referred to as a mysterious, isolated, and unpredictable country ruled by an autocratic leader. Yet North Korea is faced with a number of serious policy issues-such as nuclear development, political succession, and economic reforms-that present both a challenge and an opportunity to the United States. In order to understand these issues, the Keck Center for International and Strategic Studies has invited Dr. Chong-Sik Lee to address "North Korea at the Crossroads."

Lee is a specialist on North Korean affairs. Born and raised in the northern part of the Korean Peninsula, he moved to South Korea in 1950 during the Korean War, and then came to the United States in 1954. He received his B.A. from UCLA and his Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley. He now teaches at the University of Pennsylvania and serves as a member of the editorial boards for several major scholarly journals.

Lee's pioneering studies include The Politics of Korean Nationalism (1963), Korean Workers' Party: a Brief History (1978), Japan and Korea: The Political Dimension (1985), Revolutionary Struggle in Manchuria: Chinese Communism and Soviet Interest, 1922-1945 (1984), and Communism in Korea (1973) (with Robert A. Scalapino). The last book received a Woodrow Wilson Foundation Award from the American Political Science Association as the best book published in the United States in 1973 in government, politics, and international affairs. In addition, Lee edited or coedited Korea Briefing 1990 (1991), East Asia: In Search of New Order (1992), and North Korea in Transition (1991).

Feminist Legal Theory: Sexual Harassment

CHRISTINE LITTLETON

MONDAY, APRIL 18, 1994

Professor Christine Anne Littleton is much more than a typical professor of law, she has become a unique part of the judicial system with her perspectives on feminist legal theory. Littleton is a professor of law at UCLA's School of Law and director of UCLA's Women's Studies Program. She teaches a variety of courses, including contracts, remedies, employment discrimination, women and the law, feminist legal theory, as well as undergraduate courses in women's studies.

Littleton received her J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1982 and worked as a law clerk to the Honorable Warren J. Ferguson, U.S. Court of Appeals. She has been on the faculty of UCLA since 1983.

In addition to her academic credentials, she has been active in the legal world. She is president of the board of directors and a volunteer attorney of the California Women's Law Center, and a founder and organizer of the West Coast Critical Feminist Legal Scholars. She is also active in many women's legal, cultural, and educational organizations, speaking regularly on issues such as sexual harassment, pregnancy discrimination, reproductive freedom, sexual orientation, and educational equity.

Her published works include Reconstructing Sexual Equality (1987), Feminist and Jurisprudence: The Difference Method Makes (1989), and Does It Still Make Sense to Talk about "Women"? (1991) Littleton is currently engaged in research on the relationship between women's experience and feminist legal theory.

Please come and hear a different perspective on legal theory and women's experience.

Telling Tales on Canvas: Landscapes of Frontier Change

WILLIAM CRONON

TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 1994

What comes to mind when thinking of the American West? This region of the United States has held a very special place in the national imagination. Popular images abound of cowboys, American Indians, breathtaking natural landscapes, covered wagons, and mining towns. Literature and film have also helped shape notions of what is often called the "Wild West."

In 1893 historian Frederick Jackson Turner suggested that the frontier held significance for the United States-serving as the foundation for a uniquely American character rooted in individualism and democracy. One hundred years later, the sifting process of American identity still includes the many Wests that have emerged over time.

Dr. William Cronon, professor of history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, explores the American West through images captured in nineteenth-century landscape art. A distinguished scholar of the region and a leading environmental historian, Cronon will lead a tour over fascinating terrain. Cronon has published many award-winning books and articles, including Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England (1983) and Nature's Metropolis: Chicago and the Great West (1991). Cronon is a former Rhodes Scholar, Danforth Fellow and a winner of the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship.

Indigenous People in the Modern World

FRANK LAMERE

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 1994

Gambling, freedom of religion, health care-these are some of the contemporary issues discussed on reservations throughout the United States. While these issues are debated on the Native American reservations, they are rarely discussed in the classroom. As part of our Transcending Prejudice series, the Athenaeum welcomes Frank LaMere to Claremont to speak on the many issues facing indigenous people in the modern world.

Frank LaMere has long been one of the most politically active and recognizable figures on the national Indian scene. He is a member of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska and has been the executive director of the Nebraska Indian Intertribal Development Corporation for the past 14 years. His organization provides logistic, financial, and strategic support for economic and social service initiatives for a variety of tribes in the Midwest.

LaMere served as the head of the Native American delegation to the Democratic National Convention and served on the platform committee. LaMere also serves on the reorganization committee for the Federal Indian Health Service. He is a strong community leader as well as an important national figure for indigenous people throughout North America.

LaMere's speech promises to open your eyes to the many issues facing Native Americans today.